What does "ripe" mean?
A fruit or vegetable which has ripened.
Ripe
adj, name, noun, verb, slang
adj, name, noun, verb, slang ·1 syllable ·Common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A fruit or vegetable which has ripened.
- Grammar: ripe is listed as adj, name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: mature, accomplished, adult, advanced.
- Useful contrasts: unripe, green, green project.
- Usage evidence: When the time is ripe, be bold and go for it! I'll stand by you.
How to use "ripe"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "ripe" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "ripe" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "ripe" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "ripe" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "ripe" is acting as adj, name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "mature" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "ripe", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A fruit or vegetable which has ripened.
"When he realized that the ripes would not make it back to Selma, Zemurray offered a free bunch of bananas to any telegraph operator who notified local grocers that he was coming through with a shipment of bananas."
- 2 The bank of a river.
- 3 A tuberculosis treatment regimen consisting of rifampicin (R), isoniazid (I), pyrazinamide (P), and ethambutol (E). uncountable
Verb
- 1 To ripen or mature. intransitive
"[…] he answer'd, "Do not so; / Slubber not business for my sake, Bassanio, / But stay the very riping of the time; / […]"
- 2 To search; to rummage. obsolete, transitive
Adjective
- 1 Of a fruit, vegetable, seed, etc., ready for reaping or gathering; having attained perfection; mature.
"ripe grain"
- 2 Rife not-comparable, proscribed
"The current state of the tech industry is ripe with danger and poses an existential threat, he believes."
- 3 Of a food, advanced to the state of fitness for use; mellow.
"ripe cheese"
- 4 Having attained its full development; mature; perfected. figuratively
"He was a scholar, and a ripe and good one."
- 5 Of a sore, tumor, etc., maturated or suppurated; ready to discharge. archaic
Show 6 more definitions
- 6 Ready for action or effect; prepared.
"while things were just ripe for a war"
- 7 Ofa person, ready, willing, eager. colloquial
"I'm starting somethin' myself. I'm ripe to fight. It's this country air!"
- 8 Like ripened fruit in ruddiness and plumpness.
"Those happy smilets, / That played on her ripe lip."
- 9 Intoxicated. obsolete
"Alonso: And Trinculo is reeling-ripe: where should they / Find this grand liquor that hath gilded them? / How cam'st thou in this pickle?"
- 10 Of a conflict between parties, having developed to a stage where the conflict may be reviewed by a court of law.
"Problems emerge in judging whether a case is ripe, however, when contested general agency directives are issued that are not aimed at specific parties."
- 11 Smelly: having a disagreeable odor.
"Dolores, giving her a bath yesterday, said she was a bit ripe under the armpits."
Adjective
- 1 far along in time wordnet
- 2 at the highest point of development especially in judgment or knowledge wordnet
- 3 fully developed or matured and ready to be eaten or used wordnet
- 4 most suitable or right for a particular purpose wordnet
- 5 fully prepared or eager wordnet
Proper Noun
- 1 A village in Chalvington with Ripe parish, Wealden district, East Sussex, England (OS grid ref TQ5110).
Example
"When the time is ripe, be bold and go for it! I'll stand by you."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "ripe"?
Common synonyms include: mature, accomplished, adult, advanced, age, aged.
How do you use "ripe" in a sentence?
When the time is ripe, be bold and go for it! I'll stand by you.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English ripe, rype, from Old English rīpe (“ripe, mature”), from Proto-West Germanic *rīpī, from Proto-Germanic *rīpijaz, *rīpiz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁reyb- (“to snatch”). Cognate with West Frisian ryp (“ripe”), Dutch rijp (“ripe”), German reif (“ripe”). Related to reap.
Etymology 2
From Middle English ripe, from Latin ripa.
Etymology 3
An alteration of rife.
Etymology 4
Recorded as Ripe in 1086 (DB), from Old English rip, "edge or strip of land".